A/N: Fred and George are 18. Since their birthday's in April, we can say that the fic's set in the Golden Trio's sixth year, in the spring. For my purposes, Tonks and Bill were in the same year, and are five years older than the twins. This is just a random idea that grabbed hold in my brain at twenty past midnight on a Thursday night, and was finished and posted at quarter past two in the morning that same night. You might not like it. So sue me.

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"It's been rough, really rough."

Fred Weasley sat at the kitchen table of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, talking to the only Order member around at the moment who wasn't asleep or out of the house. Even his twin George wasn't there with him.

"They're all dead. Yeah, it's been rough. That's how it's been, Tonks... Rough. It's a bloody war, and it's rough."

Nymphedora Tonks tried to meet his angry eyes, but they were focused on the wood grain on of the table, which he was tracing with his right forefinger. "Fred... There's still hope for---"

He cut her off. "My mum and dad?" He scoffed. "They're insane, Tonks. Don't know their own bloody sons, don't know that Georgie Boy's getting married to good ol' Angelina on Sunday, don't know anything. Hell, they're worse than the Longbottoms."

"Wotcher, quit being so bitter. It's extremely unbecoming of you." She sighed. "Besides, there's always hope that Ginny'll turn up... and Percy, he's still alive."

"Percy's a bloody traitor," he spat. "Dad really ought to've disowned the little bastard, but he can't now, can he?" Tracing the wood grain was getting old, but it was the one thing that was keeping him from doing the two things he didn't want to do: Look at the clock, and meet the other's eyes.

"And Ginny..." He shook his head. "She's gone, just gone. Where, I have no idea, but she's gone. No clue what kind of spell they hit her with that night, but she's just vanished. Likely dead somewhere.

No, Tonks, me 'n Georgie, and Angelina soon, I guess, are the only ones left of the great Weasley clan."

He finally gave in to his worry and glanced at the clock. "Thought they said they'd be home by now," he muttered. After a long time of thick silence, he sighed. "So tell me about yourself, Tonks, since we have nothing better to do. How old are you really? Can't ever tell with you, 'cause you can change your appearance around so much..."

"23, same as Bill."

He cringed at the name. "Yeah, that's right; you were his girlfriend for a bit when he was in... what, fifth year?"

She nodded. "Yeah, the next year I dated Charlie for awhile..."

Again, he cringed.

"Sorry."

"Nah, it's 'k, I ought to learn to be a little more insensitive, it makes people worry whenever I cringe upon mention of my dead brothers' names." His voice was cold and hard, nothing like the Fred Weasley everyone used to know.

"Fred..."

"What? You wanna tell me to lighten up? You wanna tell me to quit mourning? You wanna tell me that I'm a prat? You wanna tell me that I'm bloody insane? Go ahead, it's not like I haven't heard all of those before..." A dark scowl accompanied his harsh snap of an answer.

"Fredric Arthur Weasley, would you quit being so bloody self-centered? The world does not revolve around you, for Merlin's sake."

"There you go, pulling the 'I'll-Act-Like-Fred's-Mum-And-Use-His-Full-Name- In-Hopes-That-He'll-Listen' trick. Sorry, sweetheart, been there, done that, ignored it." He glared up at her. "Even when it DID come from Mum, I generally tended to ignore it."

"Why are you on edge tonight?" Her tone was surprisingly gentle. "Come on, Fred, something's up, something bigger than normal, now spill."

The grey eyes flickered up, catching her currently-hazel ones before rolling around in their sockets. He took a minute to contemplate whether or not he really wanted to tell her this, then said in a hard voice, "I tell you this, you tell NO ONE. Got it?"

"No one. Gotcha."

"It's George. He's... Look, it was bloody horrible what happened over the summer, okay, everyone knows that. We come home to surprise our parents one day; we find Bill and Charlie and Ron all dead at the kitchen table, Ginny just GONE, and Mum and Dad stark raving mad, tortured that way, of course; Dark Mark floating over it all... He should've reacted to it more than he did. He should've been like me. He was always like me. Now he's just suddenly head-over-heels in love with Angelina, who he never took a fancy for in school, and they're getting married. Sound a little fishy to you?"

"He didn't like Angelina in school?"

"Nah, he was always hanging around Alicia. Me, now, I got better taste, I went after Katie..." He sighed. "But, of course, she just had to up and bloody die as well, didn't she, and I just had to be around to bloody watch it, didn't I?"

Tonks just sighed.

"He should've been like me; he was always like me; but now he suddenly wants to be a bloody family man? What is WRONG with this bloody picture? He wasn't supposed to bloody fall in love; he was supposed to come with me to avenge all those deaths; Sirius and Bill and Charlie and Ron and Ginny and Mum and Dad and Lee and Katie and all the others. He wasn't SUPPOSED to drift away from me. He wasn't SUPPOSED to, Tonks, but he did, and I bloody wanna know why, and he isn't talking. He was supposed to be bloody bitter, he wasn't supposed to crack under pressure and change..."

"Is that what you knew he would do, or what you WANTED him to do?"

The suggestion was quickly waved away. "I know him too bloody well. This is NOT normal for him, trust me on this one."

"Why pick tonight to worry?"

"Because I have to be his bloody best man in five days, and I don't think he knows what he's doing. Besides... I just have a bad feeling about him tonight. Like... Like something's gonna happen. Bloody impossible, of course, but still."

Tonks opened her mouth to ask another question, but purple sparks cut her off.

Fred glared. "Oh bloody hell... What is it THIS time, I wonder? Or rather, WHO is it..."

Dumbledore's voice spoke, resonating throughout the whole house. "Calling all Order members: Death Eaters have ambushed George Weasley and Miss Angelina Johnson in the middle of Diagon Alley. This is an emergency; they are horrible out-numbered. Go with great haste, all of you who can be spared."

Fred leaped to his feet, the color draining from his face. "BLOODY HELL!" It took all his might to keep him from Apparating away that minute, but he instead pointed his wand at his throat and muttered, "Sonorus." Then, his voice amplified, he yelled, "REMUS, MOODY, GET THE HELL DOWN HERE YOU BLOODY OLD BASTARDS, SLEEPING ON THE JOB, HOW DARE YOU?!" He quieted his voice, then, seeing the other members come hurtling down the stairs (Remus Apparated straight into the kitchen), said, "We go together," and Apparated off to Diagon Alley with a pop.

--

There were people everywhere, running and screaming. They all seemed to be running away from the circle of Death Eaters, so, naturally, Fred ran towards them. Tonks, Remus, and Moody were only a few steps behind him. The Dark Mark shone bright in the sky as the Order members dueled with the Death Eaters. Both sides were supplied with more people to fight till finally the Order came out on top.

It was then that Fred realized that he still hadn't looked underneath the Mark, and that he didn't want to. Trembling, he approached the pair of dark shadows lying on the cobblestone street. It was then that he realized that one of the shadows had a mop of red hair identical to his.

"Georgie?"

The red-haired shadow made no response.

"GEORGE, ANSWER ME, DAMMIT, BLOODY ANSWER ME, WON'T YOU?!"

No response.

He sank to his knees, reaching out a shaking, tentative hand to the face of the red-haired shadow. It was cold. "George?"

Again, he got no answer.

He put his arm around his twin's shoulders, finding them slack. "Oh no, no, Georgie, come on Georgie, don't do this to me, don't do this to me..."

Pulling his twin to him, his voice began to crack. Hot tears sprung to his eyes. "No, Georgie, you can't do this to me, don't do this to me, you can't just leave me like this, you're supposed to be alive, with me, you can't do this to me, no Georgie, come on, wake up Georgie, wake up, dammit, wake up and be like me, you're supposed to be just like me, for Merlin's sake wake UP!"

The red-haired shadow, identical to Fred, did not stir.

He bit back a sob. "It was her fault, I told you not to marry her, if you hadn't had to bloody come down here because of the bloody damn wedding rings this would've never happened, come on Georgie Boy, wake up and tell me that this was all just a bad dream, wake up, get up, come on, we've got places to go, things to do, people to see, tricks to sell, lives to protect, come on George, come on, you have to come with me, come ON, you HAVE to get up, come on Georgie, come on, you can't do this to me, I'm not gonna let you leave me like this, no way, come on, let's go, you great stupid lump, can't do anything right without me, come on, you need me, can't live without me, come on, you have to follow me, come on come on come on I need you, you CANNOT leave me, come ON, would you?"

He pulled his dead twin's body into his lap, cradling it to his chest, rocking back and forth, crying. His voice was much weaker, but he was still talking. "Come on George... Get up... Get up George... Don't leave me..."

He was totally unaware of the Order members who were clustered in a semi- circle behind him, watching the entire scene in silence. Finally, Mad-Eye Moody stepped forward, placing a grizzled hand on Fred's shoulder.

"Come on son, we need to get out of here, they could be back any minute."

Fred just shrugged him off. "We can't leave, not till he gets up."

The old Auor was momentarily amazed at the fierce loyalty that the young wizard held for his twin, but that still didn't mean that there wasn't a threat. He tried again. "Come on Fred, we'll take care of him back at the house, okay?"

"Fine," the last remaining Weasley snapped. He lifted his brother's body oh-so carefully and tenderly; tears running down his face into George's hair. He glared at Tonks as he walked slowly by. "Didn't I tell you something would happen?"

--

Apparating back into the kitchen, Fred sank into his chair, laying George's head in his lap, stretching the rest of his body across a couple more chairs.

A cool damp cloth went flying across the room from the sink at Fred's call. He sat at the table and wiped his brother's face, desperately pleading with him to get up.

"Come on mate, you can't just leave me all alone like this... I mean, really George, think of all the things we haven't done yet! We..." He was sobbing, stroking his brother's face gently. "We haven't put Zonko's out of business yet... I haven't been your best man yet, nor you mine... And, and what about those kids you wanted to have, huh George? Two little girls, Fredrica and Georgina... Remember them? What about them? We haven't found Ginny yet, we haven't been to Mum and Dad's funeral yet, we haven't gone and put flowers on Bill and Charlie and Ron's graves yet, we haven't avenged Lee and Katie yet, come on, you have to wake up, you just HAVE to..."

His listeners (not that he knew he had listeners) were in tears, moved by the heart-felt last goodbye of an 18-year-old. Mad-Eye had actually put his arm around Tonks' waist, she was crying so much. He whispered something into her ear; she buried her face into his shoulder. A tear fell from his good real eye onto her hair. She whimpered to hear Fred last eulogy, and he just kissed her forehead, his old face sad.

Still Fred spoke. "George... Come on, who'll be around to teach the next generation how to get away with pranking? Who'll be around to tell Peeves to give 'em hell? Who'll be around to complete me? To be my other half? Who'll be there for me forever? This isn't how we planned it; we said we'd die together, you never said you'd die with HER, she shouldn't've been there, you shoudn't've loved her, you should've taken my advice, I KNEW something was going to happen, but I didn't do one single thing... Merlin, Georgie, this is all my fault, bloody hell, I'm sorry George, if only I'd made you listen to me..."

Remus Lupin stepped quietly from the shadows, placing one hand on each of Fred's broad shoulders. "Fred, he died, I'm sorry, but he's dead, and---"

"NO! Shut up Remus, you don't know what you're talking about, he can't be dead, he just can't be, he's just... Just being lazy..."

"Fred: George. Died. There is nothing you can do. Come on now; go get a good night's rest, everything will be okay in the morning."

Kingsley also stepped from the shadows, moving to take George's body from the disheveled Fred, but he clutched the corpse closer.

"He isn't dead!"

"Fred," Remus began wearily again, "search your heart. I know what it's like to lose someone so close, I just lost Sirius, remember? Search your heart, I implore you. Look for that bond that you share, that link to his soul. Can't find him, can you? Didn't you know he was in trouble before we got the call? Didn't you know he was dead before you saw the body?"

The young man just nodded numbly.

"Then," Remus said gently, "you know that there's nothing else you can do. It wasn't your fault. Go to bed, please, it really helps if you sleep." He ran his fingers through Fred's hair as Kingsley gently took George's body away.

"George..." Fred whined his brother's name, still harboring the hope that he would spring from Kingsley's arms and laugh at them all. He didn't.

Remus pulled Fred to his feet, leading him upstairs to his room. "Come on, get upstairs and get a little sleep, it's past three in the morning..."

--

Mad-Eye lowered his eyes as they left the kitchen. Tonks looked up at him, leaning back a little so that she could properly see his face. When she spoke, her voice was amazingly calm.

"You know, I was just talking to Fred. He was worried about George... Said he was acting out of character quite a bit lately."

Moody nodded, letting her speak.

"It'd been rough for them before, but now..." She gazed into Mad-Eye's one good eye, feeling his magical one turn to look at her as well. "We have to keep an eye on him. I'm afraid of what he might do, poor thing... Also, the Death Eaters appear to be trying to wipe out the entire Weasley family; we'll have to be on our guard about that..."

Mad-Eye nodded. "Don't worry, Tonks, I'll watch out for him."

She closed her eyes, then opened them again. "They're going after all the Order members, really," she said quietly. "We're dropping like flies..."

He pulled her close, resting his disfigured chin gently on top of her head. "Nothing will get you, I swear, I would give my life to protect you, you know that..."

"I know, I know."

--

Fred had been upstairs for roughly ten minutes, just sitting on his bed, staring at the wall. Remus came into his room, carrying a goblet of something. "Here, sleeping potion."

It was downed in two mouthfuls before the drinker silently fell asleep, weeping even as he slept.

--

Kingsley, unsure of what to do with the body, placed it in an unused room upstairs, sitting with it for awhile, staring on the cold, dead face of what had once been his young co-worker. He looked so... So unhappy. Kingsley had always heard that death was peaceful, and every other dead person he'd ever seen had had a look of serenity upon their face. But not George Weasley. "He needed Fred," the wizard mused aloud. "He needed Fred to be happy."

--

Remus was not surprised when Dumbledore owled. Sighing, he slumped into a chair at the kitchen table, sipping the tea that someone had made, slitting open the letter addressed to him. There was another for Fred, which he left unopened in the middle of the table. Dumbledore had written:

Remus, I am ever so sorry to hear of George Weasley and Angelina Johnson's deaths this morning. Please make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I do not want him behaving the way you did immediately after Sirius's death. Take care of him.
-Dumbledore

Remus just sighed.